Devil’s Walking Stick, Hercules’ Club,
or Toothache Tree? Often a Case of
Mistaken Identity
You might have seen shrubs or small trees in the maritime
forest with vicious thorns and sharp spines on their trunks,
stems, branches and sometimes leaf stalks, and you may have
heard them called by a number of names including devil’s
walking stick, Hercules’ club or toothache tree. There are
actually three trees on our island that have the characteristics
mentioned above and many people get them confused. Two
are the real “toothache trees” which contain the chemicals
that “tickle your tongue” and cause a numbing sensation.
These are Zanthoxylum clava-herculis and Zanthoxylum
americanum. The other is Aralia spinosa. In the literature,
Hercules’ club and devil’s walking stick are used as common
names for all of these plants. Aralia spinosa (Hercules’
club, devil’s walking stick, prickly elder) is a small (three to
thirty feet tall) aromatic deciduous shrub or small tree in
the ginseng family (Araliaceae). It produces showy lemon-
scented, creamy white flowers in large terminal inflorescences
from June to September and then masses of dark purple
berries that are important sources of food for many of our
birds and small mammals. Numerous butterflies, bees, and
wasps are attracted to the flowers of A. spinosa. The very
large (double- or triple-compound) leaves can be up to five
feet long and several feet wide. Some say the leaves are the
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“largest of any tree in the continental US” and the plant might
be confused with elderberry thus the name “prickly elder.”
Cherokee and Choctaw tribes used the roots and bark to treat
boils, rheumatism, syphilis, fever, skin and mouth diseases,
and more. Legend has it that rural people used a powder
made from the plant to treat snakebites. Even though the
roots and bark have been used medicinally in the past, they
can cause some skin irritation, and the berries are considered
to be somewhat toxic.
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis and Zanthoxylum americanum
(Hercules’ club, toothache tree, prickly ash) are very similar
shrubs or small trees in the citrus family (Rutaceae). They
usually are only eight to 10 feet tall but can grow up to 30
feet. They have spiny pinnately compound leaves six to 12
inches in length and flowers in terminal inflorescences.
The leaves, bark, and roots have an aroma and pungent
smell of lime, lemon or “medicine” due to the presence of
xanthoxylin, a camphor tasting compound. Some people use
the seeds of Z. Americanum as a pepper substitute because
of their hot peppery taste. Numerous Native American
tribes and settlers used all parts of these plants medicinally
to treat a variety of ailments from circulatory, digestive and
respiratory issues to rheumatism and worms. Chewing the
leaves or bark causes a numbing sensation in the mouth and
was given to treat toothaches and localized pain thus the
name “toothache tree.” NK
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